Patriots' Danny Shelton says he learned from last season's benching

Tuesday

He excelled in high school before earning a scholarship to the University of Washington. There he played as a true freshman and started his last three years before the NFL came calling. After being selected 12th overall by the Cleveland Browns in 2015, Shelton entered the league as a full-time starter.

With the Browns, Shelton started 45 of 46 games there. He expected to come to New England and do the same last season, but for the first time in his athletic career, he faced adversity. The 26-year-old played in 13 games, but started just one. Last season also included a mentally taxing three-game stretch in which he was an inactive healthy scratch.

Last season was difficult for Shelton on a personal level. After returning to the Patriots this offseason, he’s become one of the team’s defensive standouts. He said last year was not only motivating, but taught him a few lessons.

“Really, just to be patient and be ready to perform when you’re called,” Shelton said. “It was the first time in my career that I’ve faced that situation. It’s something you grow from. I took it as a learning opportunity and I just stayed prepared.”

When it came to football, Shelton always succeeded. In 2010, he was one of the best defensive tackles in the nation as a senior at Auburn (Washington) High School. In college, he became a first-team AP All-American in 2014. He followed that up by being the first defensive tackle selected in the 2015 NFL Draft.

A taxing 2018 season in Foxboro turned into a challenging offseason. An unrestricted free agent, Shelton felt unwanted when defensive players starting flying off the shelves. Free agency started on March 14. Shelton didn’t sign with a team until May 20 when he inked a one-year, $1.03 million deal with the Patriots.

“I was pretty happy, man,” Shelton said. “It’s never a great feeling when you’re sitting at home and waiting for a phone call and you see all these other guys get picked up. I mean, I’m excited to be here. I’m excited to make another run with these guys.”

When the contract details came out, many figured Shelton was on the bubble to start this offseason. After all, only $75,000 of his contract is guaranteed. He returned to the Patriots motivated and that’s been evident this summer.

At the start of OTAs, it looked like newcomer Mike Pennel had the inside track next to Lawrence Guy at defensive tackle. As the summer has gone on, Shelton looked to have moved past Pennel. He’s taken more reps with the Patriots projected starters and has stuck out in practice drills and preseason games.

“We have just a great amount of competition here, especially at the position,” Shelton said. “We have Mike P and David Parry, Nick Thurman is kind of a hybrid. It’s something that I don’t take for granted. It’s an opportunity to get better and at the same time, learn something — newer tricks from these guys.”

This week, Bill Belichick said Shelton’s second offseason has been better than his first. It helps that there’s more familiarity between both Shelton and the Patriots when it comes to on-field play and expectations. Sometimes, it takes a year for a coaching staff to realize how to better utilize a player. And sometimes, it takes a year for a player to recognize how to better play in a new system.

“I think he’s a lot more comfortable with the scheme,” Belichick said. “We have more experience with him as a player. There are certain things that we can do to put him in a good position to be productive, and he’s worked on things that he knows he needs to do in our scheme that may be a little bit different from other schemes that he’s played in. He’s better prepared, he’s in good condition, he’s had a good camp and a good spring, so I’m glad he’s here. I think he’ll help us.”

Following last year's three-game inactive stretch, Shelton headed into the offseason motivated and eager to make the most of any opportunity he was given. So far, it’s paying off.

“It’s been great, actually,” Shelton said. “A lot of competition. I’m pretty familiar with the defense and what Bill wants out of me. I’m really just excited to see where it takes me.”

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